A Matter of Time
by Findegil
Summary: When Howl and Sophie get trapped in Wales, where Howl cannot work magic and is simply a bright academic who has whittled away his youth, they must overcome time travel, parallel worlds, and ultimately the destruction of the universe as they know it.
1. In which there are two weddings

After reading two "sequels" to Howl's Moving Castle, I was so disgusted I had to write my own. I'm using the book characterization, not the movie ones. Please let me know what you think.

* * *

"Sophie, will you marry me?"

Sophie looked down at her hands, then back up at Howl, speechless. Howl quite nimbly avoided looking straight into her piercing eyes.

"Well, what do you say, Sophie dear?" said Howl, managing to keep his voice level.

Calcifer cackled in the fireplace. "You see, Howl, I _told_ you she wouldn't do it! You'll be jilted in love, for once!" Sophie could not bear this nonsense any longer.

"What is wrong with you?" shouted Sophie. "Just how many times do you plan to propose? Isn't once enough?"

"Look here," said Howl. "I know it sounds strange. Getting married once is quite enough for me. You know if it were up to me I would skip to the happily ever after part." He gave Sophie a dazzling smile. "But, you see, it's not up to what I want. Especially since I have nosey family members ogling for a glimpse of the Mrs. Jenkins-to-be, telling me it would be improper to deprive them of the pleasure of finally seeing me married. It seems Megan in particular gave me up as a lost cause years ago."

"I shouldn't wonder they did, knowing your reputation," said Sophie. Then she paused, thinking back to the first and only time she met Howl's family. That ended in her practically insulting Howl's sister Megan and storming out of her house in indignation, with Michael and Howl in tow. "I hope they don't recognize me."

"Ah yes," said Howl, eyes aglitter, "that performance of yours elevated you even further in my affections."

I expect you think flattery will get you the results you want, Sophie thought. She simply took up her sewing again, leaving Howl still in a very awkward kneeling position on the floor beside her chair. Howl, unabashed and still smiling, turned to Calcifer for moral support, which he did not find. Calcifer started cackling again in a very wicked manner. Howl tapped on the fireplace. He leaned his head on his hand, elbow on the fireplace ledge, a faint smile still on his face, and gazed at Sophie. It did not take long for this new nonsense to become unbearable as well for Sophie.

"All right, fine!" Sophie yielded. "You win! Have one here in the morning and the other with your family in the late afternoon. It's bad enough having two weddings. Making them on different days would be even worse." Howl gave Sophie another of his dazzling smiles and threw his arms around her.

It was then that Michael opened the door to see Howl still kneeling, with his arms around Sophie's waist. This was not something Michael particularly wanted to either see or interrupt, but there was a spell the king needed. Royal Wizards like Howl did not get to slither out of commissions from the king very easily. So Michael and Howl went to work on the spell. They were not at it long when Howl poked his head inside the castle, calling to Sophie.

"Sophie, shall I wear white at the wedding? We could match!"

"No!" said Sophie. "I've nearly had it with your vanity, so I've already started making you a blue and crimson suit." She held up her sewing, still in some pieces.

"Ah, well, as long as you don't end up dying my hai…" Howl dodged a piece of wood and hastily shut the door on a furious Sophie, who was reaching for more ammunition as Calcifer edged her on.

"Botheration! Any hint of the green slime incident and she's quite murderous," Howl remarked offhand to Michael with a consoling look. "Make sure to keep your Martha away from blunt objects. I'm afraid Sophie's arm runs in the family."

It was in this way that the days before the two weddings flew away. A wizard's wedding was something of a novelty in Ingary after all, for wizards do not get their reputation as devils and witches as crones if they all have happy, cozy families at home. Sophie was showered with more gifts than she had when she was suspected to be an old witch come to live with Howl. There was scarcely a moment after the announcement of their engagement that the castle did not have visitors, well-wishers, or spongers looking for a handout, as Sophie dubbed them. It got so troublesome that after seeing the dark circles under Sophie's eyes, Lettie persuaded Sophie to stay with her until the wedding day. Lettie followed this with a stern lecture to Michael, Calcifer, and Howl—in that order. Howl bore the brunt of the wrath with a vague detachment. It just would not do for Sophie to collapse before her wedding day, Lettie droned.

Through the torrent of abuse, Sophie wondered whether Howl was that much better off than she was, given the increasingly complex spells the king was requesting of late. There were spells of every shape and kind, most of which took hours of preparation to cast. In fact, since the day Howl had given his second proposal, Sophie had not seen him except at meals, where he seemed as lighthearted as ever. It was only a few persisting frayed ends on the long sleeves of his scarlet and golden suit that betrayed his fatigue. He still took hours in the bathroom, coming out looking resplendent and smelling of lilacs, but Sophie began to suspect the spells cast there where to hide his exhaustion.

Lettie was thus allowed to bear Sophie away, like a prize pig in need of fattening up before a feast. Sophie spent the last few days before her wedding despondent, missing Howl and Calcifer and the castle—in that order. She finished Howl's suit, tried on dresses, got fed, and gave up trying to sleep much.

Sophie found she was much more nervous about the wedding through Howl's inky black door than the one with her family. It was not until she saw Howl standing, waiting for her in his blue and crimson suit, that all such thoughts melted away. They did not return until Howl led her by the hand through the castle to the door turned black-down. He opened it to shadow, and Sophie stepped into it, looking back at the last second to catch a glimpse of Calcifer hovering in the doorway, looking a trifle dejected.

On the other side of the door, Howl went to work, reaching for his keys and turning their clothes from wedding dress and suit to a suit with less voluminous sleeves and something dreadful. Sophie looked down to find the majority of her leg was bare.

"How are these clothes?" squawked Sophie, trying to pull down what was clearly not long enough to be a skirt at all and pull up at the top what might have been a blouse.

"Those, Sophie dear, are what young ladies wear in this world," replied Howl, his eyes sparkling as he examined her exposed skin. "Last time you visited it was at a more, em, advanced age."

"Somehow, I get the feeling not all young ladies wear these sorts of clothes," moaned Sophie.

"Don't be absurd, Mrs. Pendragon. You are quite respectable looking," Howl replied with such a wide grin that Sophie began to melt again. She then remembered something that had caught her eye before her clothes had melted away.

"Why did you use the key to change our clothes?"

Howl, wanting to stem the inevitable questions that would follow if he did not answer, explained: "In this world, I can't do magic. Here, magic is only theoretical, so I could study it all I wanted, but couldn't cast a single spell." Sophie opened her mouth again to ask another question, and Howl quickly added, "The only way I can is to enchant an item while in the castle," he held up the keys, "and store a bit for when I need it here."

Sophie turned this over in her head, and realized she had never actually seen Howl do any magic in this world. The image of seeing him through the window of the castle chasing the Witch of the Waste came to her mind. Even then, when his family was in danger, he could do nothing but run after her. He must have felt helpless, Sophie thought.

"Sophie dear, look at me," Howl said in a soft voice, guessing where Sophie's thoughts had turned. Sophie looked up into his eyes as Howl took her hands. "Magic or no, I will always protect you," he breathed, kissing her on the forehead and leaving the smell of lilies on her skin. Sophie wanted time to stop at that moment, there where she knew for certain Wizard Howl loved her more than anything else in this—or any—world.

Time, however, would not stop because of Sophie's demand. And so, they walked hand in hand towards their second wedding party. Megan took Sophie away almost immediately to fawn over, and dress in a another wedding dress. Howl had slithered out of telling them much about Sophie other than she lived far away, so Megan interrogated Sophie questions about all manner of things while Sophie's estimation of her slitherer-outer husband grew by leaps and bounds as she tried to deflect them without much success.

"Where is my brother taking you for your honeymoon, Sophie?" asked Megan as she did up the buttons on Sophie's dress.

As Sophie could not say she was under the impression that Howl was going to have Calcifer take them and the moving castle around the countryside, her mind tried to fix on what was at least partially true.

"I believe," faltered Sophie, "that we are going somewhere near my family."

"What?" said Megan, looking shocked. "Why would Howell do that…unless…" She trailed off, leaving Sophie to moan inwardly that she had somehow made a terrible mistake in her answer. "Sophie," Megan continued, turning Sophie to face her, "are you already having sex with Howell?"

Sophie did not know what to say to this, as such a word was not what a proper young lady should know in Ingary. However, Megan looked so earnest Sophie decided she needed to find out what it was.

"What does 'having sex' mean?" asked Sophie.

Megan's earnest look became shocked. Oh fiddlesticks, I've made a mess of it again, thought Sophie. Megan's shocked look was replaced by one of cool resolve, and she began—in a voice quite like Mrs. Fairfax—to tell Sophie what was to happen on her wedding night. After Sophie recovered from raging that no one in her family had seen fit to tell her about these wifely duties, she thought there was no way all that was going to happen in the same place Calcifer could hear or (heaven forbid) see. It was pondering these disturbing thoughts that Sophie approached her second wedding of the day.

It turned out that this wedding was very much like the one in Sophie's world, or at least it was to Sophie. She was still in a daze after meeting so many people and having to talk just the right amount of time to them, that she did not so much as hear Howl announce to the guests that the happy bride and groom were leaving. The catcalls and whistles of the guests showed they attended, and this made Sophie remember her conversation earlier with Megan. Howl led his beet red wife outside, back toward the door to the castle.

"Won't they mind that we're not staying?" asked Sophie, becoming increasingly nervous. "They just met me after all." Howl gave her a half smile but only strode faster towards the house with the castle door. With Sophie trotting to keep up, they reached the door. Giving her hand a comforting squeeze, Howl opened it. Or rather, he tried to open it.

"This is curious," mused Howl, using both hands, then shoulder to open the door, but all to no avail. Although he had been to Wales and back many times, this was the first time the door refused to open. Howl then tried the key, as a last resort, yet even before this magic the door stood unmoved and decidedly solid. Putting one hand through his hair, Howl stood, puzzled. Sophie stepped closer to him, and he reached out to catch her hand. This also he was unable to do. He turned towards Sophie and tried again. Though he could get a breath away from her skin, he could not by any means touch her. Sophie's wide eyes stared up at him.

"Horror! Shock! Damnation!" said Howl, adding a few other choice words nice young ladies should never know. As Sophie was not such a lady, she ignored Howl, added a few well aimed kicks to the door, and then joined him in cursing the general universe after hurting her foot on it. The one comfort she felt was the fact that Howl, now muttering on the ground with his legs drawn up to his chin and his arms wrapped around his legs, could not use green slime in Wales to express his utter despair.

* * *

Howl's character, I realized, is very much like Tamaki from Ouran: very prone to emotional outbursts.


	2. In which there is a wedding night

In my mind, the land of Ingary in Howl's Moving Castle is a place that is half fairy tale, half Victorian England. It is a book which censors Sophie's swear words, and describes girls as ladies and guys as gentlemen. It is therefore not improbable to a world such as this that a subject like sex (gasp!) would not be talked of openly, especially when Sophie is mostly raised by her stepmother. We all know how well stepmothers educate their stepdaughters in fairy tales, do we not? ;)

Thank you to Tulcadhiel-Greenleaf, Yuuki-Kuran of the Knight, Xanthe Z. Young, redchevyford, jblockk, Mrs. Nose, and GinTsuki for your reviews. Any and all constructive criticism is welcome! I'm not offended if you dislike it, believe me, and I want to make it as good as possible.

* * *

"Howl," said Sophie, trying to get her husband's attention.

"This cannot be happening…" said Howl, locked in a mental world of unimaginable misery and despair where there were no spells to create perfectly coiffed hair. He took a lock of it in his hand to examine it.

"Howl," tried Sophie again louder, bending down to put a hand on Howl's shoulder and shaking it.

"My spells will start wearing off if I stay here too long…ouch!"

"How can you think of your beauty spells at a time like this?" yelled Sophie, kicking Howl again in the small of his back. "We have no place to stay tonight, and unless you've stashed some money somewhere in that suit of yours, we have to go back to Megan's—"

"Even more importantly," Howl yelled back, cutting Sophie off while messaging his back with a grimace, "why are _you_ able to touch _me_?"

Sophie looked at Howl, then at her hand, and thought a moment. "I expect you're cursed again," she said blandly.

"I must have the worst luck of any wizard ever," lamented Howl.

"Who did you offend, jilt, or run away from this time?" asked Sophie.

Howl opened his mouth either to protest or to start listing off names, but Sophie quickly continued: "Never mind. I don't want to know. I expect you deserve whatever this is. Or worse."

Sophie sighed, stealing herself against the inevitable farce they were going to have to enact. Once Howl had recovered enough, he ventured to suggest that they get their stories straight. As they trudged back to the house under a thickening curtain of snow, Howl explained:

"We were going to the Riviera for our honeymoon, but because of this snowstorm, our airplane was grounded," coached Howl. "It is actually quite convenient weather."

"Ri-vi-air-ra…air plain…"

"Oh, and we have no luggage because I sent it beforehand, so we wouldn't be bothered with it during the connections," continued Howl.

"Luggage…connections…"

"I have someone in mind that may be able to help us. Tomorrow we'll try visiting him, though we'll have to go in my car," Howl smiled, looking at Sophie and remembering the last time Sophie rode in his car.

"Wait just a moment," said Sophie. "Among other things, you haven't explained what the 'ri-vi-air-ra' or an 'air plain' is."

"What do you think they are?" asked Howl, smiling wider as they reached the doorstep of Megan's house, almost forgetting their current predicament in his amusement.

"I imagine the ri-vi-air-ra could be a place next to a river, but I have no idea what a plain of air could be. It sounds quite strange," pondered Sophie, as Howl tried unsuccessfully to hold in his laughter.

Megan opened her front door to a scowling Sophie and a doubled up Howl, gasping from laughter after explaining to Sophie what the words meant. They made quite the odd pair on her doorstep, but then since Howl was always an odd person to his sister, it fit. After hearing their carefully crafted lies, she exhibited the appropriate amount of sympathy and shock. While Howl disappeared somewhere, presumably to see if the guest room had everything they needed, Megan led Sophie to a room in the back of the house.

It was full of metal and wood, and warm without any fire that Sophie could see. On one wall was a black box that Megan opened and put in a plate of food covered in transparent wrapping that looked as if it was something spiders had woven. Sophie watched the food go round and round as Megan turned something that made fire appear on another metal surface. A kettle went on the fire. The black box went dark, beeped much like Howl's fast moving contraption, and was dark. Sophie wondered whether Howl's world was as devoid of magic as he claimed.

Almost on cue, Howl appeared, presumably by the nonexistent magic of his world. He plopped himself down on a chair next to Sophie and stole bites from the food Megan had put in front of her. Their forks did battle until Megan turned around to give them a disapproving look. When the kettle rang, Gareth called for a cup of tea from the living room. Howl stiffened as Megan prepared and took a tray to him. It was then that Sophie decided she would interrogate Howl about his sister's husband somewhere Howl could not slither out of answering her questions. She realized that the somewhere would likely be in a room. By themselves. For the whole night…

"Sophie," called Megan, interrupting Sophie's visions of her wedding night. Megan poked her head into the room. "Would you like to take a shower?"

"Ah…" faltered Sophie.

"We have fluffy towels," Megan said in a perfect sales voice.

"Well in that case I can't refuse," said Sophie.

Howl polished off the last bites of her food, and stood up with her.

"Let's take one together," grinned Howl.

"Might I remind you that you cannot even touch me, dear husband," muttered Sophie through her fake smile.

Howl's grin disappeared and was replaced with one of dejection. As Megan led her out of the room, lecturing Howl on proper conduct now that he had new, weighty responsibilities, Sophie continued to look daggers at him. Howl hesitated a moment before following her like a chastised puppy. Megan took Sophie into her room to give her clothes, shutting the door on puppy Howl. He loitered outside of the door for a while, then took himself to the guest room. There he sat on the edge of the bed, running his hands through his hair in consternation.

When Sophie found Howl after her shower, Howl was asleep, spread out on top of the duvet. To her, he looked young and insecure, without any of his usual swaggering self-confidence. She reached down and brushed the hair off his forehead. It fell back into his eyes. She sat on the bed and fixed it again as Howl's eyes fluttered open.

"I feel like Sleeping Beauty," said Howl, groggy.

"Whoever that may be, I would not describe you as beautiful." Sophie countered.

"Mmm…"

"Or at least I'd never admit it to you and feed your overly inflated vanity," she thought.

Howl threw an arm over his eyes.

"Megan said you would enjoy these clothes," said Sophie, "but she wouldn't tell me why."

Howl's arm fell off his eyes and he squinted at Sophie, still sleepy. Then his eyes grew wide. He rubbed them. He stared at Sophie as she grew increasingly more embarrassed. Sophie thought that these clothes were quite decent compared to those Howl had conjured earlier that day, so she had had few qualms when Megan suggested them.

"Sophie…" started Howl, searching for the right words to explain the matter to her. "In this world, after two people sleep together, the…lady sometimes puts on the gentleman's shirt. It's considered…attractive."

"Ah," said Sophie, fiddling with the long cuffs of the white oxford shirt she was wearing, not knowing what to reply with for once. She looked up and met Howl's calm blue eyes.

"Whatever my sister may say," said Howl, "I think you are beautiful no matter what you wear. Or what you look like."

Sophie could not resist those eyes. They drew her to them, and she kissed his forehead. As her lips touched him Howl closed his eyes, wishing for nothing else at that moment than to be able to hold his wife. Sophie kissed one of his eyelids, then the other. Her hand found his, grasping the duvet in a tight fist, as if she would flit away if he did not keep this grip. With the other hand in his hair, she hesitantly brought her lips to his.

"However," whispered Howl as she pulled away from him to breathe, "She was right in the fact that I do enjoy you wearing my shirt."

Sophie wrinkled her nose at him and pushed Howl away. He was far too close for her heart to take much more. It was then that Sophie remembered what she wanted to ask Howl before.

"Howl," started Sophie, getting up from the bed and moving to the other side of it. "What is wrong with you and Gareth?"

This time, Howl wrinkled his nose at her.

"Mrs. Pendragon," said Howl in reply, getting under the covers and pulling them up to his chin. "Come to bed."

"No!" said Sophie. "Not until you answer me."

"It's a long story."

"Pray, tell me," said Sophie, crossing her arms and settling for a struggle in a chair opposite the bed. "We have all night. And it looks like we may be here for a long time, so you may have to do something other than avoid him."

Howl in response put his head under the covers and sulked. Worn out from the day and murderous thoughts about her childish husband who would not even trust her with this part of his past, Sophie ended up falling asleep in the chair. When Howl was sure Sophie was asleep, he pulled off the duvet and draped it over her before tiptoeing back to bed.

Sophie awoke to the smell of burnt toast wafting its way into the bedroom. The thought of how her wedding night had turned out made her feel worse than the charred toast. It was thus not a surprise for her to find that Howl had disappeared again. Peaking down the stairs after dressing in her outfit from yesterday, Sophie heard Megan and Gareth lecturing Howl. From what Sophie could gather, Howl was the one who had burnt the toast, as well as being a general disappointment to the family for years. Since Howl, although sometimes scatterbrained, was at least a competent cook, Sophie wondered whether the events of last night had anything to do with the situation. After the way Howl had behaved she had half a mind to join the lecturing.

The family ate a strained breakfast, wherein everyone except Mari and Neil tried to veil their contempt for Howl. Sophie did a better job at it than Megan and Gareth, since she was expected to be a happy maiden-no-longer after her wedding night. Soon, Howl excused himself, pleading a trip to the airport to check if their flight was rescheduled. After a poignant look from Sophie, he excused them both.

"I'm not letting you escape off somewhere without me," Sophie said as they tramped outside to the car.

"I wouldn't dream of escaping from you, Sophie," Howl said in a hurt tone. "I merely thought you would want to rest after the events of yesterday. What I meant to escape was _them_."

Sophie gave Howl a sharp, knowing look. He huddled further into his coat and fumbled with the keys.

"Howl, please," said Sophie.

Howl looked up from his keys into her earnest face.

"Please don't keep me out of your heart forever," she said. "I am the one who saved it after all."

"You were," replied Howl after a moment, thoughtful. "But my heart been gone so long that I am still getting used to having it at all, let alone sharing it."

* * *

Howl is definitely a lot smarter than Tamaki though.

Sorry lots of fluff and explanations and angst in this one, but it is necessary latter on...character development, right? Right? Next chapter the plot thickens. Also, I have issues with editing correctly in this website. Part of an earlier draft got tacked on to the end of this chapter's draft...*flails*


	3. In which there is an unexpected visit

Thank you again to all who reviewed! Let me know how you like this chapter. :) Like Sophie I sometimes lack self-confidence.

* * *

Between hanging on for dear life and Howl's words, Sophie had much to ponder. In truth, the ride was not as terrifying as the first time Howl took Michael and Sophie to find the lost spell, but it was still almost sickening how fast Howl took the corners. What Sophie was having the most trouble with was the fact that she had leapt yet again before she had looked. Instead of thinking about what Howl could be feeling, Sophie had tried to get him to reveal a part of his life that he might not ever want to relive. Once she stopped to think of this, Sophie realized how horrible she was treating Howl. The problem was, Sophie did not tend to think before she spoke. It was what got her into all sorts of trouble since she had met the Witch of the Waste. Or even before, for that matter.

In contrast, it was Howl who, for all his numerous other faults, thought things through. It was Howl again who had broken through her defenses and had told Sophie she was worth something—that she was not just an automatic failure as a first-born child. Sophie now realized that before she met Howl, there was no reason for her to be self-confident in anything, so she never was. Everyone else had planned Sophie's life for her. But with Howl, life was unpredictable and exciting. Even though they now zigzagged through the narrow streets of Howl's world, sometimes a breath away from hitting something (or someone), Sophie knew that she could trust Howl with her life. And that was what she decided to do until he told her about his past.

It was not long until Howl was leading Sophie through his university, down dark corridors, winding up and down staircases that branched off into more corridors. After the first few turns Sophie gave up trying to remember the way and instead peaked into any open doors they passed. In some were students sitting silent; from others came strange noises or murmurings. At length, Howl opened the door to a room filled with clocks. Almost very bit of wall was covered in clocks of all sizes and shapes. There were wooden cuckoo clocks and golden mantel clocks, clocks with handles to carry them and clocks with their gears exposed, lantern clocks and tall clocks, cat shaped clocks and water clocks, and even one clock whose hands were suspended in crystal and seemed to move of their own volition. Only a few audibly ticked their time, and so the room was not as noisy as Sophie expected. Nevertheless, she did not want to be in the room when the clocks struck the hour.

Sitting at a desk with their back towards Howl and Sophie was the Professor. He was frantically scribbling in a black notebook with a quill pen, and didn't look around until Howl cleared his throat several times. The Professor then turned in surprise to greet Howl, and Sophie found he too was covered in timepieces. He had numerous gold, silver, and copper pocket watches dangling from chains on his waistcoat.

"Well, well, Howell isn't it?" asked the Professor. "How goes your dissertation?"

"I took my degree years ago, sir," replied Howl, undisturbed at this lapse in memory. "You were present at my oral defense." Sophie thought the reason behind the numerous timepieces was less mysterious now.

"Quite right, I remember now," said the Professor, noticing Sophie. "And who might this be, Howell?"

"This, sir, is my wife Sophie," said Howl. "Sophie, this is Professor Ward. He was my supervisor during my doctorate in magic here at the university. As you can see," said Howl, waving a hand around the room, "his true passion at the moment is not magic, but time."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Jenkins," said the Professor in an awed tone.

"It is nice to meet you too, Professor," said Sophie, gingerly taking the Professor's proffered inky hand.

"Howell, why didn't you tell me you were married?" asked the Professor, gesturing for them to sit down.

"I did in a way sir," said Howl as they sat down in two great armchairs, his tone betraying no emotion, "for I believe you received a wedding invitation from my sister." Before the Professor could make any more remarks on Howl's marital status, Howl continued to Sophie: "Professor Ward researches folklore at the university. He is the country's foremost expert on magic and wizardry."

"Yes, yes," said the Professor. "You were always too fond of magic and wizardry and all that tosh." He turned back to his desk to grab a thick hardback book. "This though, my dear," said he, addressing Sophie, "is my real passion."

Sophie read the title of the book: _Fundamental Fluctuations in the Space-Time Continuum: Relativity as it Pertains to Spells, Enchantments, Hexes, and Curses_. It was not until she got to the end of it that she found a few words she understood.

"You see," said the Professor, "time is always being manipulated within the context of spell casting, but with different effects. Sometimes, like in Cinderella, the spell's duration is limited for no apparent reason other than narrative purposes, whereas in other cases, like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, the spell is cast for an indefinite period of time."

"Ah, there's that Sleeping Beauty again," Sophie thought, sneaking a peak at Howl, who was sitting, head resting on his fist, as if he had heard this many times before and was settling in for yet another inevitable lecture.

"Thus, one of the questions I pose in that tome is: are spells limited by time or unreservedly manipulating it?" the Professor asked. "And then, there is the question of the Faery. Fairy paths are considered death for mortals to walk on, but why? And why do you think it is that in folklore, mortals in many cases will cross to fairyland for a short period of time, only to return to their homeland where years or even centuries have passed, and they have not aged a bit?"

"That doesn't happen when Howl comes and goes from Wales," thought Sophie as the Professor said some more incomprehensible words. "Or maybe it does a bit and we all thought it was just spells that made him so." She looked again at Howl, wondering once more what he looked like without any beauty spells.

"Oh, I almost forgot, my dear," said the Professor, interrupting himself. "Would you like some tea?" Howl seized this quick moment of silence between barrages of words while the Professor pottered around the room, gathering the dishes for tea.

"Professor Ward," said Howl. "We are here today actually to ask you about fairy paths. Have you come across any mention of places where they are reputed to have been in your research?"

He said this all in a silky tone of voice, and Sophie guessed this was not the first time he had asked about a portal to another world. It was disturbing to think, though, that she was considered a fairy in this world. The Professor pondered for a moment as he produced a white kettle that had a long tail. A curious Sophie watched the Professor put the end of the tail into the wall.

"I believe," said the Professor offhand. "That there was one in Dinas Emrys."

Howl took his head off his fist, looking more attentive now. "That is curious," he murmured.

"What?" whispered Sophie, as the Professor continued to fiddle with the tea, his back to them.

"The last time I asked him that question," said Howl in a hushed tone, "his location led me to a portal into Ingary."

Sophie thought about this while the tea things were set out and the kettle boiled without any heat source. The Professor talked on and on, while Howell interjected a few erudite comments and Sophie tried to follow the maze of unfamiliar references and jargon. Though the Professor was for the most part incomprehensible, he spoke in a way that was mesmerizing, and Sophie felt that she could stay comfortably in this cozy, eccentric room while the time on the clocks slipped away. At length, after tea and conversation, Howl began to make their excuses on account of how busy the Professor seemed to be.

"Nonsense, my boy," said the Professor. "My star pupil is always welcome here." Sophie wondered if there was anywhere that Howl was not lauded as brilliant. "And his charming wife, of course." The Professor offered his hand again.

"Since I was remiss in wishing you well during your wedding, perhaps you would like to choose something from this room as a gift?"

"Oh, I'm not sure," said Sophie with a smile. "I would not want to deprive you of a time piece!" She looked at the mantelpiece when the Professor insisted she pick something. There she found an emerald green egg clock, a wooden clock, and an umbrella clock.

"Er, perhaps not those," said the Professor. Sophie thought that she had hit the mark with her jest.

She moved over to the desk, thinking perhaps the Professor would be more willing to part with one of his books. The Professor hovered over her as Howl sat watching them both with a smile. As the Professor tried to interest her in one of his books on time, Sophie spied a small bird on the end table next to Howl. It had brown speckled feathers and looked quite homely when compared to the emerald and golden and silver clocks littering the rest of the surfaces in the room. Sophie picked it up. The bird felt hollow so she squeezed it and the bird popped its mouth open to reveal a small clock in its mouth, on a berry it was eating. When Sophie declared she would like to have the bird clock, Howl arched one brow in surprise. Looking somewhat dejected that Sophie had dared choose a clock, the Professor rallied a bit as he ushered them to the door. The couple made the goodbyes and promised to visit again.

"Howl," said Sophie as the door closed with a click, "you don't intend to visit him again, do you?"

"I would not say that. Let's not be hasty and tempt fate anymore," answered Howl as he looked at the bird in Sophie's hand. "It has already twisted so much recently I cannot predict what will happen next."

"It seemed out of place there amongst all the other clocks." said Sophie in answer to Howl's look. "And you needn't talk in flowery language anymore."

"You, Mrs. Jenkins, have a penchant for attracting abnormalities," laughed Howl, completely ignoring her last remark and turning to lead them back through the corridors. "Ever since the moment I met you, the unusual has flocked to you. And that clock is no exception."

"What do you mean, Howl?" asked Sophie, the edge to Howl's tone stopping her at the landing to the staircase. Howl turned towards her, down a step on the staircase.

"That bird, Sophie," explained Howl in an odd voice, "was a gift I gave to Professor Ward. If that were not enough, I also gave it to him _after_ I started living with Calcifer in the moving castle." Sophie's eyes widened in surprise at this.

"It was the first thing I brought from Ingary through the portal. I wasn't sure if I could bring anything from another world to Wales, so I took that as a test. As you can see, it survived quite well." Howl looked up at Sophie with a half smile. "You always sniff me out no matter what, don't you, Mrs. Nose?"

Howl looked so small and plaintive standing on the stair below her that Sophie knew how much the recent events had shaken him. Things were spiraling out of control, and even though they now had a small clue to follow, Sophie realized how much Howl felt at a loss without his magic. On impulse, Sophie wrapped her arms around Howl's neck and kissed him. When Sophie broke the kiss and looked at him, Howl's eyes stayed shut for a moment, and he let out a soft sigh.

"Howl," said Sophie in a firm voice. "I will always find you, whatever mask you put on. And I love you," she continued, remembering his words of yesterday and looking into Howl's bright eyes, "no matter what you look like."

Hand in hand, they rode back to Megan's house, for it was too late to take the trip to Dinas Emrys today. There they endured another barrage of questions, which Howl deflected with a promise that tomorrow they would no longer trespass on Megan's hospitality. Since Sophie was not quite sure that they would actually find a portal tomorrow, this promise seemed dubious at best. When Mari took Howl's hand to show him her schoolwork for the day, Sophie hovered in the living room, trying to decide what to do. If it were the castle she would start cleaning, but as this was most definitely not the castle, Sophie was at a loss. Megan crossed her arms and studied Sophie, as if she was thinking of whether to get Sophie to polish the silver or dust the mantle. If it was the latter, Sophie was prepared for a swift remark about why they did not use the fireplace for anything other than decoration. Instead of cleaning, Megan asked Sophie if she wanted tea, and when Sophie declined, suggested a book which she pulled off the bookcase.

"There are a few of Howell in here at the beginning," said Megan in a sly voice as she went into the kitchen to start dinner.

Sophie smiled to herself and settled down to muse over the photo book, making remarks about them to the bird clock. Very near the beginning she was rewarded with a picture captioned "Howl—6 years old." "Oh my, look here," said Sophie. "Even at six you are adorable. You're off to school, then, to study making love to the girls?" There was another on the page of Howl covered in mud. "I can just imagine how you got into that mess." Another was Howl in a birthday hat blowing out seven birthday candles.

Turning a few pages, Sophie found a scowling Howl in a starched uniform entitled "Entry ceremony, 12 years old." In the background was a forbidding schoolhouse. There were no pictures of him for a long time, and then at last was "Howell's graduation." Howl stood there, still a bit stiff in a tie and a black undergraduate gown, but with a familiar sparkle in his eyes. He looked the picture of a typical Oxbridge graduate, surrounded by fellow scholars and rough around the edges where numerous rugby games had taken their toll. Although his familiar charisma showed through even in a photo, Howl looked so ordinary in the group that Sophie had to look closely at first to find him. For all their current troubles, Sophie thought it lucky that she had caught a glimpse at a "normal" Howl before he was known as the wizard Pendragon.

Before Sophie could ponder the fact that she had found no pictures that looked like Howl's parents, Howl came in and confiscated the book, wailing in distress that Megan had been so cruel as to torture him so. According to Howl, Sophie would never let him hear the end of these pictures. Mari laughed in evil glee at the flailing Howl, and with the arrival of Gareth the family busied themselves with the final dinner preparations. It was not until Mari had been tucked into bed by Howl that Sophie cornered him.

"Don't worry about the photos," said Sophie, "I won't ask you again about your past." Howl looked down at her, impassive. "Megan gave me the book, if that's what you're wondering. I'll wait as long as it takes for you to tell me, and if it never happens, then that's all right. But you know it will come out sometime, Howl, with how stubborn and curious I am."

"Indeed," said Howl, opening the door to their room. "I'm quite aware that I cannot keep much from you for very long. You are too clever for that, my little fairy witch." Howl grinned as he started to disrobe. "The best I can do is distract you for a time." To that, an embarrassed Sophie had no reply but a well-aimed pillow in Howl's face.

It was not until they were under the covers and the darkness hid her flaming cheeks that Sophie dared to venture, "Your sister told me too, on our wedding day, that this wasn't the first time you had slept with someone."

"Some day I will bewitch that tongue of hers," said Howl, not entirely in jest.

Sophie was silent for some time, and then the words came out in a rush: "Howl, if you can't touch me, I'm not sure I know what to do. I tried not to think about it on our wedding day and hoped I could follow what you did, but that's impossible now. I'm such a failure that I didn't even know what it was, and now it's even worse…"

Howl interrupted her with his finger a breath away from her lips. Sophie could almost see the invisible barrier between them through the darkness. Though they were a breath apart, that breath was as wide as a leering gulf, threatening—in Sophie's mind—to tear them away from each other forever. What if Howl was cursed for the rest of his life? What then? Would Howl leave her, since it was she alone whom he could not touch, or hold, or caress?

"Sophie," called Howl, cutting off her thoughts of insecurity. "Now it is my turn to tell you not to worry." His eyes, even in the darkness, held hers. They were full of the careless bravado that Sophie never seemed to have. "Tomorrow, we are going to Dinas Emrys, and we will find that portal, or fairy path as the Professor calls them. Did I tell you what is significant about Dinas Emrys in Welsh legend?" Sophie shook her head.

"On the flag of Wales there is a red dragon. That dragon, it is said, fought an invading white dragon, back in the days when there was magic in Wales. Or perhaps, as I think, in a parallel Wales that is almost the same as this one, but where magic and magical creatures are real. At any rate, the people in that Wales were frightened by the noise of the dragons' fight, and so the king Lludd made a trap for them. Where he caught and then imprisoned the dragons, as I am sure you can guess, was Dinas Emrys."

"What happened to the dragons?" asked Sophie as Howl fell silent.

"Different tales tell different things. Some say the dragons were later freed, and the red dragon killed the white, but others say they still sleep at Dinas Emrys."

"I expect we shan't meet them tomorrow," murmured Sophie, as she drifted off to dream of dragons and enchanted birds.

It was early morning when Howl woke Sophie, and the sun not yet up as they huddled into Howl's car. As Howl said their flight was early and that they could let themselves out in the morning, none of Howl's family were up either to see them go. The sun was just clearing the mist among the hills as they entered Dinas Emrys, and Sophie found she could see where they needed to go. An almost tangible force gripped her, and she took Howl's hand as they left the car and followed it to where the portal simmered like quicksilver in the rising sun. Stepping into it together, they were lost to the Wales that Howl knew.

* * *

It's funny how I have the broad outline of the plot, and what scenes I want to write, but the characters seem to have minds of their own and respond in their own unique way when I put them in a scenario and then watch how they react. I also planned the abrupt ending, because I like cliffhangers. *is shot*


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